Feeding and stacking method and machine



July 14, 1925.

0. B. MAXSON FEEDING AND STACKING METHOD AND MACHINE \w m0: Omm B Mason 3 m fi M w mm 2 Sheets-Shut 1' July-14, 1925.

' c. B. MAXSON FEEDING AND STACKING METHOD AND MACHINE 2 'Sheetw-Shht 2 Filed May 1 1921 Patented July 14, 1925 PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES B. MAXSON, OF WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND.

FEEDING AND STACKING METHOD AND MACHINE.

Application filed May 13,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES BENJAMIN MAxsoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Westerly, in the county of lVashington and State of Rhode Island, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Feeding and Stacking Methods and Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to feeding and stacking methods and machines, and more particularly to methods of and machines for feeding and stacking sheet material, like paper.

According to present practice, a large number of thicknesses or sheets of paper are simultaneously severed into bundles of sheets, the bundles then being fed forward as units into a magazine, where they become stacked. For some purposes and for some kinds of paper, it is desirable to feed and stack the sheets singly. This result can, of course, be attained with present-day machines, a single sheet, and not a bundle of sheets, constituting the unit. To operate the machines at the low speed for which they are adapted, however, is very time consuniing, and when it is attempted to increase the speed, the sheets commence to buckle up and fly about as they are delivered to the magazine, interfering with proper stacking. The consequence is that it is impracticable to stack sheets singly or in small bundles with present-day methods.

The object of this invention, accordingly, is to provide an improved method and machine, whereby sheets of material may be fed and stacked singly or in bundles with equal facility and at high speed.

To the attainment of this end, a feature of the invention resides in feeding the sheets singly or in small unit bundles successively past a predetermined point at a speed so high that, if they were fed at said speed into the magazine, they would buckle and fly about therein, and successively feeding them past a second predetermined point at relatively low speed, whereby the single sheets or the bundles become overlapped and are fed at said low speed, in overlapped relation, into the magazine, where they become easily stacked.

lVith the above object in view, the invention consists of the improved method and 1921. Serial No. 469,203.

machine hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

The invention will be better understood when studied in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a preferred machine embody ng the present invention; Fig. 2

is a plan view of apart of the same; Fig. '3 is an enlarged View of a. portion of the tion of the arrows; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the same; and Fig. 9 is aview similar to Fig. 7 showing the parts in different position.

The invention is illustrated in its preferredform in Fig. 1. Any suitable feed.

mechanism 1 may be employed to advance a web 2 of material, like paper, shown in the present instance as leading from a roll 3. to a rotating cutter 4 which cooperates with a cutter block 6 to sever the paper into sheets 8 of predetermined length. A plurality of layers of material may be led to the feed mechanism in superposed relation from a plurality of rolls, or the roll or rolls and the cutters may be dispensed with, and previously cut sheets operated upon directly, as described below. The forward ends or heads of the sheets are successively/ gripped by and fed between relatively high-speed tapes 9 and .10 on one side and 12 on the other. It will be understood that the term tape is employed in the specification and the claims in a generic sense, and includes within its scope/other feeding mechanisms, like belts, cylinders, aprons and the like.

The high-speed tapes are driven at a speed somewhat higher than that of the feed mechanism 1 and, therefore, at a speed higher than that at which the sheets are delivered to the tapes. The head of each sheet is consequently gripped by the tapes 9 and 12 and the sheet is pu led taut and away from the next succeeding sheet, leaving a gap 13 between each two successive sheets. In this spaced-apart relation, the sheets are received between the high-speed tapes 10 and 12, which feed them successively to relatively low-speed tapes 14 and 16. In the interest of economy of time, the paper is unrolled from the roll 3 so rapidly, and the speed of the high-speed tapes is so high, that if the sheets Were permitted to enter a magazine 18 directly, they would buckle and fly about therein in a manner that would make stacking impossible. The tapes 9 and 10, on one side of the sheets, and the tapes 12, on the other side, restrain the sheets from buckling while traveling at this high speed, but in the magazine, there is no such restraining influence.

Upon the sheets being received by the low-speed tapes from the high-speed tapes, their speed of advance becomes naturally reduced. Were it not for the gaps 13 between the sheets, the head of a sheet fed at high speed would be liable to engage the tail of the prior-fed sheet just after the latter had been slowed down by the lowspeed tapes and, causing the sheets to crumple, clog the machine. Before the head of the sheet that is travelingat high speed can reach the sheet that is traveling at low speed, however, the tail of the latter has moved downward transversely to the direc tion of feed, from the high-speed tape 12 to and upon the low-speed tape 16', as will be evident from an inspection of Fig. 1.

- The head of thesheet that is traveling at high speed, therefore, by the time that it emerges from between the high-speed tapes 10 and 12, will la over the tail of the priorfed sheet. As t e former sheet continues to travel at higher speed than the. latter, it will become superposed thereover, in overlapping relation thereto, but at a distance behind the value of which is dependent upon the relative speeds of the highspeed and the low-speed tapes. In similar fashion, a third sheet will become superposed over the second sheet, a fourth over the third, and so on. While the high-speed tapes feed the sheets singly, therefore, the low-speed tapes feed a plurality of sheets in successively lapped relation, one behind the other, as shown more particularly in Fig. 3, in which fashion they arrive into the magazine 18. There, a stop 20 acts successively upon the forward ends or heads of the sheets to limit their further movement, so that the sheets become stacked or piled in the magazine evenly.

In this manner, the sheets may be advanced to, and stacked evenly in, the magazine, at low speed, without buckling or curling or other defects incident to high speed, though the sheets are in reality advanced singly by the high-speed tapes at quite a high speed. The high-speed advance, for example, may

be as high as 850 feet per minute or higher,

while the speed of advance of any single sheet in the magazine itself maybe as low as feet per minute. The high speed, indeed, need be limited only by the speed at which the cutter will operate safely. The significance of this will become apparent when it is reflected that the average speed employed with resent-day methods,-which speed, of course, is uniform throughout, is in the neighborhood of only 150 feet per minute.

The high-speed tapes 12 are mounted over actuating rolls therefor 22 and 24 that are driven from any suitable source of power, and over idler rolls 21 and 23 that are driven by the tapes. The roll 22 may be driven by a chain gear 25 and the roll 24 may be geared thereto. The low speed tapes 16 are mounted over a roll 26 and idler rolls 28 and 30. The roll 26 is driven from a belt 32. The roll 28 is pivotally adjustably mounted upon an arm 34 about a point: 37, so that it may act to take up the slack in the tapes 16. The highspeed tapes 10 are mounted over idler rolls 33 and 35 and also, for a reason which will hereinafter appear, over idler rolls 36 and 38. The roll 33 may be. geared to the roll 22. The low-speed tapes 14 are similarly mounted over idler rolls 40 and 42 and also over idler rolls 44 and 46. The highidler rolls 47, 49 and 51. The roll 47 acts.

to tighten the tapes 9 and the roll 51 is spring pressed to pinch the sheets against the roll 21 that is mounted directly below. It will be noted that the roll 35 and a portion of the high-speed tapes 10 overlap the low-speed tapes 16, the better to guide the sheets 8 to the roll 42. Toward the attainment of the same end, the rolls 24 and 35 are raised somewhat above the plane between the tapes 14'and 16, the raised position of the roll 24 aiding the above-described transverse movement of the tails of the sheets.

Though the apparatus above described is the best now known for practicing the present invention, it will be obvious that the invention itself is more embracing, and that all apparatus and methods are included within its scope which are adapted to feed sheets of material successively past a predetermined point at a speed so high as to make it impracticable to feed them atsaid speed directly into the magazine, and to successively feed the sheets at airelatively low speed past a second predeterminedjpoint into the magazine. The first-named predetermined point may, for example, be the point 48v at which the rolls 21 and 51 first pinch the sheets, the point 50 at which the tapes 10 and 12 separate, or any inter mediate point. For convenience, this point may be referred to as a high-speed point. The second predetermined point, which may dating stopping the machine.

be designated a low-speed point, may, for

example, be the point 52 at which the lowspeed tapes 14 and 16 commence their feeding, the point 54 at which these vtapes separate, or any intermediate point.

The importance of having the sheets spaced apart before their speed of travel is reduced has already been alluded to.. 'The' tails of the slowed-down sheets are thus en-' abled to get out of the way of the heads of the next succeeding sheets that are fed at sult will be that every now and then the head of the fast-moving sheet will collide with the tail of the prior-fed sheet, causing the paper to become crumpled, and necessi- Even if the sheets do not collide, a sheet with a down ward curling head has a tendency to underturn instead of goin forward. A feature of the present invention accordingly resides in stiffening the sheet to prevent its wrinkling or curling before its speed of travel is reduced.

A- preferred method of effectingthe desired result comprises longitudinally crimping the sheets in the direction of feed. For this purpose, a plurality of longitudinally extending crimping fingers are stationed across the machine just rearward of the point 50. As the sheet advances towards this point, its head becomes crimped by the fingers in the manner illustrated in Fig. 5. As the sheet advances further, the longitudinal extent of the crimps increases, with the result that a degree of rigidity or stiffness is imparted to the head of the sheet which keeps all parts of the head from buckling down into contact with the tail edge of the prior-fed sheet that is now resting upon the tapes 16. The crimps are progressively imparted to the sheet throughout its length, so that by the time the sheet has been advanced out of the influence of the high-speed tapes, its tail, too, has become stifiened, preventing any part of it from buckling'up into engagement with the head of the next following, rapidly advancing sheet. Very wide sheets of comparatively thin paper may be handled in this manner. It will be understood that the number aid the position of the crimping fingers may be varied to suit the peculiarities of different kinds of paper.

The paper-stifiening process is further useful in that it causes the heads of the sheets to engage the prior-fed sheets at a are separated, they can not rub over one another. The generation 'of objectionable static electricity is thereby reduced. If the heads of the sheets were to strike the priorfed sheets near the point 50, they might stick together electrically so firmly as to prevent the sheets sliding over one another, with a crumpling or clogging result as harmful as if the tail of one sheet were to be engaged by the head of the next. By proper manipulation, the heads of the sheets emerging from between the high-speed tapes l0 and 12 may be caused to shoot forward over the prior-fed sheets to very near the point 52, eliminating practically all troubles due to static electricity.

The rolls 24 and 26 are shownin Fig. 1 arranged in the relative positions disclosed in a copending application Serial No. 370,829, filed April 2, 1920, of which the present application is a continuation in part. l/Vith the rolls in this position, it is possible to operate upon many kinds of paper out into sheets of a length approximately equal to the distance between the points 50 and 52, the tail of the sheet advancing beyond the point 50, and out of the influence of the high-speed tapes, just before the head hecomes gripped at the point 52 by the lowspeed tapes.

Some papers of very poor quality will not yield to stiffening treatment of the abovedescribed character. The tail of a sheet ofpaper of such quality will almost inevitably buckle or curl at the time when the sheet is slowed down, and the next following sheet if fed at high enough speed, will be liable to engage it. To prevent this happening, the expedient has been resorted to of positively forcing the tail of the retreating sheet outof the way of the head of the next-following sheet. This expedient may be used in addition to the stiffening treatment above described.

,This result may be accomplished in many ways, but the simplest and best method now known comprises shortening slightly the distance between the points 50 and 52. For the handling of sheets a yard long, to take an example, the distance between the two points ma be shortened by about three inches. The result will be that when the head of the sheet is first gripped by the low-speed tapes at the point 52, its tail wilL still be under the-control of the high-speed tapes at the point 50. The high-speed tapes continuing to act upon the tail at high speed, while the low-speed tapes prevent the forward movement of the head except at lo\v speed, the tail will buckle or curl, very much as shown at 57, Fig. 4. The

buckle or curl thus introduced into the tail of the sheet will impart a spring thereto which will force the tail of the sheet downward into the space between the rolls 24 and 26, and out of the way of the next following sheet. By'the time that the head of the next following sheet has arrived at the point 52, the tail of the prior sheet has thus been positively lapped under it and the prior sheet can not therefore interfere with the progress of the sheet following.

To enable the tail 57 to spring into the space between the rolls 24 and 26, this space must be greater than is shown in Fig. 1 and more according to the relative dimensions shown in Fig. 4. To this end, the roll 26 is mounted in a bracket 59 provided with slots 61 within which enter bolts 63 for adjustably securing the bracket 59 to the frame of the machine. This renders it possible to move the roll 26 to and from the roll 24 soas to provide for a less or a greater horizontal space between them, as preferred.

' would obviously be impracticable because,

as the tapes are continuously acting, they would introduce substantialbuckling effects caused by the rear ends of the sheets being fed at greater speed than the forward ends. The high-speed tapes must ceast to act upon the sheet at substantially the moment when the low-speed tapes commence to act thereon. It would be undesirable also to feed shorter sheets, because, after leaving the point 50, they would lie between the points 50 and 52, in the space shown provided between the tapes 10 and 16, and could not be positively fed forward into the magazine unless and until they drifted to the point 52. According to the present invention, however, the same apparatus may be adapted to operate upon sheets of differ ent length.

In the specific embodiment of the invention that is illustrated in Fig. 1, this result is attained by mounting the rolls 35, 36, 42 and 44 upon a suppoit 56 that is longitudinally movable to adjust the relative positions of the points 50 and 52. The adjustment may be effected through the medium of two gear wheels 58 meshing with two rack gears 60 upon opposite sides of the frame of the machine. The gear wheels are fixed to the oppositeends of a shaft 59 that is journaled upon the support 56. But

one of the gear wheels and its cooperating rack gear is visible 1n F igs. 1 and 2,- the other being directly behind. The support top of the stack of sheets at substantially constant height, thereby permitting the overlapped sheets to enter the magazine without hindrance from sheets already there. The lowering 'is effected through the action of a pawl 84 upon the teeth of a ratchet wheel 86 that is keyed to rotate with bevel gears 88 upon a shaft 89. The bevel gears 88 mesh with bevel gears 90 that are fixed to screw-threaded rods 92 mounted in nuts 94 secured to the magazine. Additional screw-threaded rods 93 may be employed, actuated in unison with the rods 92 through bevel gears 95, 97, 99 and 101. The action of the pawl 84 upon the ratchet wheel 86 subjects the screw-threaded rods 92 to successive partial rotative movements which result in successively lowering the magazine. The pawl 84 is pivoted to'a link 96 that is pivotally mounted upon the shaft 89 and that is connected, through a link 98, to an eccentric 100. The eccentric is mounted upon a shaft 102 that is continuously rotated from a shaft 104. The pawl 84 is thus continuously oscillated. The pawl is normally ineffective to engage the ratchet wheel 86, however, because engaged by a shoulder 106 upon an arm 108 that is pivoted upon the shaft 89, and that is caused to oscillate with the pawl, as will presently be described.

The rear edge or margin of each sheet, upon the arrival of the sheet in the magazine, is engaged by a hook or hooks 110. The hooks 110 are fixed to a rocking shaft 112, so as to be rocked or oscillated thereby. The hooks are thus alternately rocked away from the top sheet, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7, and then returned to engage the rear edge or margin of another sheet that has meanwhile been deposited upon the top of the stack. As the shaft 112 rocks, it carries with it an arm 114 that is adjustably connected at 116 to a link 118. The other end of the link-is pivoted to the arm 108. 1

When the pawl 84 is oscillated towards the right, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7 by the movement of the link 96, it forces the arm 108 to rock in the same direction. The

arm ,108, in its turn, through the link 118,

the arm 114 and the shaft 112, causes the into the magazine, and the stack of sheets becomes higher and higher in consequence,

hooks 110 to rock away from the stack towards the right, in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 7. When the pawl 84 is returned towards the left by the link 96, a spring 120 that is coiled about the rocking shaft 112 causes the shaftto rock back towards its initial position. The hooks 110 are thus returned into engagement with the top of the stack, and the arm 108 is returned towards the left so as to maintain the shoulder 106 under the pawl 84. The pawl 84 and the arm 108 are thus normally oscillated together through the action of the link 96 and the spring 120, the pawl 84 being thereby maintained normally out of contact with the ratchet wheel 86.

As more and more sheets are delivered the} degree of oscillating movement of the hooks ,110 towards the left, in the direction opposite to that of the arrow in Fig. 7, becomes gradually less, until the tips. 121 of the hooks 110 reach a position more like that shown in Fig. 9. The degree of oscillating movement towards the left of the rocking shaft 112 and the arm 108 becomes correspondingly smaller. The link 96 continues to oscillate the pawl 84 freely, however, throughout its full amplitude. After a time, therefore, as the shoulder 106 is prevented by the hooks 110, Fig. 9, from following the pawl 84 far enough over towards the left, the pawl will fall into engagement with the teeth of the ratchet wheel 86. Upon its next oscillating movement towards the right, in the direction of the arrow, the pawl 84 will effect a partial rotation of the ratchet wheel 86, causing the stack of sheets to become somewhat lowered, as above described. The hooks 110 will thereupon be permitted again to rock farther to the left, and the shoulder 106 will therefore again vride under the pawl 84. The pawl 84 will then again be maintained ineffective, out of engagement with the ratchet wheel 86, 'until the stack of sheets again rises above the predetermined level. The stack may be raised and lowered at will through the me dium of a handle 123 that is adapted to engage removably the shaft 89.

In order that the sheets may stack evenly, a hack jogger 122 acts successively upon the successively arriving sheets to move them into contact with the stop 20, and side joggers 124 and 126 successively close in upon the sheets, one at each side, to prevent their spreading sidewise. The back jogger 122 is pivoted .to a shaft 128 that is oscillated by an arm 130. The arm 130 is linked at 131 to a bevel-gear segment 132 that is pivoted about the shaft 89. Rocking movement of the segment 132 will thus be communicated, through the link 131, tothe back jogger 122. The segment 132 actuates also the side joggers 124 and 126. To this end, it meshes with a bevel gear 134 that is keyed to a rocking shaft 136 to which are keyed also oppositely disposed eccentrics 138 and 140, as shown in Fig. 8. The eccentrics 140 act through eccentric straps 142 upon sliding rods 143 to which the side jogger 124 is secured. The eccentrics 138 act similarly through eccentric straps 144 upon sliding rods 146, Fig. 8, to which the side jogger 126 is secured. The rods 146 are slidingly mounted in guides 148 and 150. The rods 143 are slidingly mounted in guides 152. Owing to the opposite disposition of the eccentrics 138 and140, the rods 143 and 146 will be slidingly actuated simultaneously in opposite directions. This will result in the slde joggers being moved alternately towards and from each other, but never together in the same direction.

The gear segment 132 is oscillated from the shaft 102 by an eccentric 154 and a link 156. l/Vhen the eccentric occupies the position shown in Fig. 6, the back jogger 122 closes in upon the top sheet to true it with the stack. When-the shaft 102 has rotated through an additional half revolution, the side joggers 124 and 126 close in upon the sides of the stack. In this manner, the

sheets, as they arrive in the magazine, are

evened or trued from the rear and from the sides with the result that a very uniform stack is produced.

The same diiiiculties that are met with in present-day methods and machines when it is attempted to feed and stack single sheets at high speed are encountered when it is attempted to operate upon small bundles .of sheets, particularly if the sheets be constituted of very light or thin paper, or paper that is not stiff from other causes. The present invention, obviously, is as applicable to the feeding and stacking of bundles of sheets as to single sheets. Although, for concreteness, therefore, the term sheet is employed in the claims, it is to be understood that the term is intended to embrace within its scope not only a single sheet, but a unit which may be constituted of a single sheet or of a bundle of sheets. that the claims be broadly construed, except in so far as it may be necessary to impose limitations in view of the state of the prior art.

What is claimed as new is:

1. The method of feeding material constituted of paper and the like that comprises feeding sheets of-paper or the like to a highspeed point, pulling upon the head of the next-following paper after the tail of the prior-fed sheet has passed the point to feed the sheets past the point at relatively high It is desired speed, the first-named feeding being atlower speed than the second-named feeding, whereby the paper is pulled taut as it is received from the first-named feeding means, and whereby the sheets pass the. high-speed point in spaced relation, and feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past a low-speed point, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapped relation.

2. A sheet-feeding machine having, in combination, means for feeding sheets of paper or the like to a high-speed point, means for pulling upon the head of the next following paper after the tail of the priorfed sheet has passed the point to feed the sheets past the point at relatively high speed, the first-named feeding means acting to feed the paper at lower speed than the second-named feeding means, whereby the paper is pulled taut as it is received from the first-named feeding means, and whereby the sheets pass the high-speed point in spaced relation, and means for feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past a lowspeed point, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapped relation.

3. The method of feeding sheets of material into a magazine and stacking them therein that comprises feeding a plurality of sheets of predetermined length past a high-speed point at a speed so high that, if they were fed singly at the said speed into the magazine, they would buckle and fly about therein, gripping the heads of the sheets successively at a point the distance of which from the high-speed point is less than the predetermined length, springing the tail of each sheet transversely to the line of feed out of the way of the next-following sheet upon the head of the sheet becoming gripped, whereby the heads of the sheets are permitted to lap the tails of the priorfed sheets, and feeding the lapped sheets into the magazine-at a speed low enough to permit their entering the magazine Without buckling or flying about.

4. The method of feeding sheets of material into a magazine and stacking'them therein that comprises feeding, along a predetermined line of feed, a plurality of sheets past a high-speed point at a speed so high that, if they were fed singly at the said speed into the magazine, they would buckle and fly about therein, springing the tail of each sheet transversely while continuing to feed the said tail positively to the line of feed out of the way-of the head of the next-following sheet upon the said tail reaching the high-speed point, moving the sheets successively transversely in the transverse direction of movement of the tails of the sheets and slowing down the speed of travel of the sheets after the sheets have passed the high-speed point, whereby the sheets are permitted to come into face to face contact ,and the heads of the sheets are permitted to lap the tails of the prior-fed sheets, and feeding the lapped sheets into the magazine at a speed low enough to permit their entering the magazine without buckling or flying about.

5. A machine of the class described having, in combination, a continuously-acting high-speed feeding device for feeding a sheet of material at relatively high speed, a continuously acting low-speed feeding device adapted to receive the sheet from the'highspeed feeding device and feed it thereafter at relatively low speed, and means for adjusting one of the feeding devices to accommodate sheets of different length.

6. A sheet-feeding machine having, in combination, two relatively high-speed tapes between which a sheet of material is adapted to be fed, two relatively low-speed tapes between which the sheet is adapted to be received from the high-speed tapes, and means for adjusting one of the low-speed tapes to accommodate sheets of different length.

7 The method of feeding sheet material which comprises feeding the sheet past a predetermined point, gripping the head of the sheet at a second predetermined point while continuing to feed the sheet positively past the first-named predetermined point, and springing the tail of the sheet away from the first-named predetermined point.

8. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises successively feeding a plurality of sheets of predetermined length past a predetermined point, successively feeding the sheets past a second predetermined point the distance of which from the first-named predetermined pointais less than the predetermined length, and springing the tails of the sheets away from the first-named predetermined point while continuing to feed the tails positively.

9. A sheet-feeding machine having, in combination, two relatively high-speed tapes between which sheets of material are adapted to be fed, two relatively low-speed tapes between which the sheets are adapted to be received in lapping relation from the highspeed tapes, and means for stiffening the sheets, one of the low-speed tapes being situated transversely of the line of feed of the high-speed tapes, and the end of said lowspeed tape adjacent to the-high-speed tapes being spaced from the high-speed tapes, the tails of the sheets being adapted to be sprung into the space between said low-speed tape and the high-speed tapes to facilitate the heads of the next-succeeding sheets lapping said tails.

10. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises feeding a sheet at different speeds, and stiffening the sheet just before its speed is changed.

speed point, and stiffening 11. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises successively feeding a plurality of sheets at relatively high speed past a high-speed point, successively feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past a lowthe sheets just before they are fed past the high-speed point, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapped relation.

12. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises successively feeding a plurality of sheets at relatively high speed'past a high-speed point, successively feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past a lowspeed point, moving the tails of the sheets away from the high-speed "point transversely to the direction of feed to permit the heads of the next succeeding sheets to lap said tails, and stiffening the sheets to permit their heads contacting with the priorfed sheets well in advance of the tails of said prior-fed sheets to reduce the frictional engagement of the sheets to a minimum, whereby the sheets are fed past the lowspeed point in lapped relation.

13. A sheet-feeding machine having, in combination, means for successively feeding a plurality of sheets at relatively high speed past a high-speed point, means for successively feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past a low-speed point, the tails of the sheets being adapted to be moved away from the high-speed point transversely to the direction of feed to permit the heads of the next succeeding sheets to lap said tails, and means for crimping the sheets in the direction of feed to stiffen them, thereby to permit their heads contacting with the prior-fed sheets Well in advance of the tails of said prior-fed sheets to reduce the frictional engagement of the sheets to a minimum, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapped relation 14. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises successively feeding a plurality of sheets at relatively high speed past a high-speed point until their heads reach a low-speed point, successively feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past the low-speed point, and successively moving the tails of the sheets, While continuing to feed the said tails positively, at relatively high speed past the high-speed point at substantially the moment that the heads of the sheets reach the low-speed point toremove said tails out of the Way of the heads of the next-following sheets, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed pointin lapped relation.

15. The method of feeding sheet material which comprises successively feeding a plurality of sheets at relatively high speed past a high-speed point until their heads reach a low-speed point, successively feeding the sheets at relatively low speed past the low speed point, and successively lapping, im mediately in advance of the high-speed point, the tails of the sheets fed past the low-speed point under the heads of the nextfollowing sheets fed past the highspeed point at substantially heads of the sheets reach the low-speed point, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapped relation.

16. A sheetfeedingandstacking machine having, in combination, a lay-boy, means for feeding a plurality of sheets to the lay-boy in lapping relation, a stop in the lay-boy for stopping the forward ends of the sheets, movable-feeler means situated at the rear of the lay-boy and controlled by the height of the stack of sheets in the layboy for lowering the lay-boy, and joggers acting upon the rear ends and the sides of the sheets as they arrive in the lay-boy for evening the stack.

the moment that the 17. A machine for feeding sheets of material into a lay-boy and stacking them therein having, in combination, means for feeding a plurality of sheets, one immediately after another, past a high-speed point at a speed so high that, if they were fed singly at the said speed into the lay-boy, they would buckle and fly about therein, means for feeding the sheets at irelatively low speed past a low-speed point into the lay-boy at a speed low enough to permit their entering the lay-boy without buckling or flying about, whereby the sheets are fed past the low-speed point in lapping relation, a stop for engaging the forward ends of the sheets to stop the travel of the sheets in the lay-boy, means controlled by the height of the stack of sheets in the lay-boy for lowering the lay-boy, and movable-feeler means situated at the rear of the lay-boy and acting upon the rear ends and the sides of the sheets as they for. evening the stack boy.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this second day of May,

. CHARLES B. -MAXSON.

of sheets in the layarrive in the lay-boy 

